Railway-car-door construction



Oct. 1, 1929.

H. H. HENRICZKS RAILWAY CAR DOOR CONSTRUCTION 2.Sheets-Sheef 1 FiledSept. 12, 1925 Oct. 1, 1929.; H. H. HENRICKS I RAILWAY CAR DOORCONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 12, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented @et. 1,19229 a aria HAROLD H. I-IENRICKS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THEYOUNGSTOWN STEEL DOOR COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIOI EAILWAY-CAR-DOOB. CONSTRUCTION Application filed September 12, 1925.Serial No. 55,933.

This invention relates to railway car door constructions.

One object of the invention is to provide a track and hanger arrangementfor mounting car doors, which will be simple and efficient in operationand construction and economical of manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a track in which anintegral bar of a commercial type is utilized, wherein a plurality ofangular portions are provided, and arranged so that one of the same maybe uti-' lized to secure the track member in position upon the carstructure, another of said angular portions serving as a track properand still another angular portion disposed in such a manner as to formguiding means for the door and restrain the same against outwardmovement when supported by hangers operatively associated with saidtrack and door.

Another objectof the invention is to provide hangers for use inconnection with said track, and in which a housing is provided for theanti-friction roller, and the roller associated therewith in such amanner that there are no projections of any kind on the side of theroller housing of the hanger which might come into contact withprojections on the car structure.

Other and further objects of the invention will more fully and clearlyappear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is afragmentary, front elevation of a portion of a car structure and doorshowing my invention associated therewith; Figure 2 is a fragmentary,enlarged, vertical, sectional view of the construction illustrated inFigure 1; Figure 3 is a fragmentary, front elevation of a car'doorconstruction illustrating a slightly different embodiment of myinvention; and Figure 4 is a vertical, sectional view of theconstruction as illustrated in Figure 3, on an enlarged scale.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, 1O represents the lintel timber ofthe door frame, 11 one of the door posts, and 12 the door, the latterbeing preferably of all metallic construction. The lintel timber in thepresent construction is made to project laterally slightly outwardly ofthe door frame and said lintel is provided'with an upper rabbet 13extending longitudinally along the face of said timber and a lower anddeeper rabbet 14 immediately below the rabbet 13 which likewise extendslongitudinally along the timber 10. The usual header 14E is securedbeneath the lintel, the outer face of whichis disposed in aplanecoinciding with the inner wall of the rabbet, whereby the outer face ofthe header and the inner wall of the rabbet 14 are offset inwardlyrelative to the outer face of the lintel 10. Secured to the timber 10 isa track member 15. Said track member is preferably in the form of aT-bar having a. centrally disposed'flange 16, and flanges 17 and'18normal to the central flange and extending upon opposite sides thereof.The track member '15 is fitted into the rabbeted portion of the linteltimber, and the flange 17 secured to the car-structure by means of .asuitable number of bolts, indicated at 19, the flange 18 of'said memberprojecting downwardly over the deeper rabbet 14, and forming inconjunction withthe inner wall of said rabbet and the outer face of theheader, a guideway for the reception of the upper edge of the door 12.The central flange 16 projects horizontally outwardly from the trackmember 15 and provides the track proper.

Secured to the door 12, adjacent the upper edge thereof, are hangers 20,preferably two in number, and as the same are similar in all respects,only one will be described in detail. Each hanger includes a baseportion 21, secured to the door by rivets 22, an offset portion 23 toclear the track member, and a vertically extending portion 24 which isinwardly ofiset to provide a roller housing 25,

the body portion of the hanger being formed from a web 26 which on itsouter face is reinforced by angularly disposed edge flange-s 27extending from end to end of the hanger. On its inner face, said hangeris provided with a substantially, horizontally extending port-ion 28,the upper face of which is convex or curved in a lateral direction,adapted to contact the lower edge of the flange 18 of the track memberto limit the upward moveing is a roller 32 provided with an axialopening in which is fitted a graphited, bronze, self-lubricating bushing33 and extending through said bushing to support said roller is astepped axle 34. The axle 34 has the en-.

larged portion 35 which fits the cap opening 30 in the side wall 27.said enlarged portion extending through the roller and abutting againstthe inner surface of the outer wall 28. The reduced portion 36 of saidaxle extends through the small opening in the wall 28 and outwardlybeyond the same, where it is provided with a pin 37 or other suitablesecuring device for preventing inward movement thereof, it beingappreciated that securing means at only one end of the axle is necessaryin this construction, and by reason thereof the inner face of the rollerhousing is entirely smooth and unobstructed so that there is no dangerof parts of the roller mounting coming into contact with projectionsupon the car frame during operation.

By the above described arrangement. a simple and inexpensive trackmember is utilized in such a manner that the same may be readily andsecurely fastened in position to form a guide for the edge of the doorto prevent its outward movement, and to provide the track proper, thehanger arrangement preventing excessive upward movement of the door, andaffording a self-lubricating roller arrangement for co-operation withsaid track.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4. 5O represents the lintel timber havinga rabbet 51 in its face, which co-operates with the header 52 to providea guide-way of the same char acter as hereinbefore referred to. Securedto the lintel timber is a track member 53, which in this instancecomprises a channel member having a flange 54:, webs 55 and 56 disposedat an angle to each other, and a flange 57 formed integrally with theweb 56 and extending downwardly a suitable distance, the track memberbeing secured to the lintel timber by means of a suitable number ofbolts indicated at 58 and extending through the web 55. The upper edgeof the door 59 extends into the guideway, said door being provided withan angular member 60 having one flange 61 lying flatwise against theface of the door, and having the other flange 61 extendingat rightangles thereto to afford a reinforcement, the downwardly extendingflange 57 being spaced substantially from the offset portion to permitthe use of such a relnforclng angle member.

Secured to the upper edge of the door are the hangers 62 which arealike, and only one of the same will be described in detail. Each hangerhas at its lower portion marginal portions 63 by which it may be securedto the door, rivets 64: being utilized for this purpose. The inner faceof the lower portion of the hanger is laterally offset near the topthereof, as indicated at 65 to provide the necessary clearance for thedepending flange 61 of the angle iron 60, the upper horizontal flange 61of which projects above the upper face of the lower portion of thehanger. The hanger is also recessed or notched, as indicated at 66, toprovide a space to accommodate the depending flange 57 of the trackstructure. The bottom face provided by said notch or recess, asindicated at 66" is rounded or made convex and, similarly, the

inner vertical face 66 which is formed by said notch or recess, isrounded or convex, for the purpose hereinafter described. The hangeroutwardly of the flange 57 extends vertically upwardly beyond the web 56forming the track proper, and said hanger is further offset inwardly toprovide the roller housing 67. The housing 67 is of the same characterhereinbefore described, having a stepped axle 68 upon which is mountedthe roller 69, said roller having a graphited bu sh-' ing to lubricatethe same, and the axle belng secured on its outer end only, so as toleave the inner face of the housing free and unobstructed.

As indicated in the preceding description, the rounded or convex faces28 and 66 of the hangers are disposed below the bottom edges of thedepending flanges of the respective track structures. Said surfaces areadapted to co-operate with the lower edges of the depending flanges tolimit the tilting or cocking of the doors while being shifted and, inactual practice, the space which will normally be provided for betweensaid surfaces 28 and 66 and the edges of the depending flanges of thetrack structure, will be so limited as to prevent the upper portions ofthe doors from ever coming in contact with any of the car structure andalso, to prevent any other part of the hangers from fouling the trackstructures. By rounding the surfaces 28 and 66 in the manner indicatedand described, a simple and inexpensive anti-friction means is providednot only to limit the tilting of the doors as above described, but topermit movement of the doors, even though said surfaces are in contactwith the track structures and regardless of which end of the door may betilted upwardly, or in which direction the door is being shifted. In thecase of the vertical rounded surface 66 of the form shown in Figure 4,it provides an additional anti-friction surface engageable with theinner face of the depending flange 57, do not only limit outwardmovement of the door, but to facilitate easy sliding back and forth ofthe door. I

The hangers which have been hereinbefore described, are intendedprimarily for use in conjunction with steel or all metal doors and itwill be noted that, with such type of doors, the main body portionsthereof are disposed in planes inwardly of the planes of the dependingflanges of the track structure. In the case of the structure illustratedin Figure 4, the entire metal door, including the strengtheningcorrugations thereof, is disposed entirely within the vertical plane ofthe depending flange 57. Furthermore, in both modifications illustrated,the entire door, including the reinforcing corrugations thereof, isdisposed withina vertical plane passing through the line of contact ofthe supporting rollers with the track proper, so that the center ofweight of the door is in a plane disposed inwardly of a vertical planepassing through the points of support. It will also be noted that inboth modifications, the plane of attachment of the bracket and door isentirely inside of the vertical plane of attachment of the track memberwith the lintel. This creates a tendency for the lower end of the doorto swing outwardly or away from the side wall of the car, therebyreducing the friction between the door and the wall of the car duringsliding movement. The said arrangement is also of importance inconnection with the bulging of the car side since, with the door alwaystending to swing outwardly or away from the side wall, there will not beany binding action between the door and the side wall even with amoderate amount of bulge. in the side wall. As will be understood bythose skilled in the art, guide brackets will be employed at the bottomof the door as customary in top hung doors, to limit the outward swingof the bottom of the door.

lVith particular reference to the modification shown in Figure 4:, itwill be noted that the surface 66 prevents the upper portions of thehousing of the hanger from engaging or fouling with the upper flange 54of the channel member 51, thereby also minimizing friction in theshifting of the door in the event the latter is tilted while beingoperated.

While I have herein shown and described what I now consider thepreferred manner of carrying out my invention, the same is merelyillustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications that comewithin the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a car door construction, the combination with a door support anddoor; of a track member provided with a horizontally disposed portionproviding a track proper, said track having a flange extendingdownwardly beyond said support; a door having a reinforcing angularmember applied totheouter face thereof along its upper edge,said-angular member being disposed inwardly of said downwardly extendingflange; and hangers secured to said door, each of said hangers beingprovided with a cut-out portion for the reception of said downwardlyextended flange, and including integral means adapted for co-operativeengagement with said flange.

2. In a car door construction, the combina-.

tion with a door support and door; of a track member having one sectionsecured to sald support and another extending downwardly clear of saidsupport, a third section of said track member being arranged to providethe track proper; hangers secured to said door, each of said hangersbeing provided on its upper end with a roller housing having inner andouter walls; a roller disposed in said housing; and an aXle forsupporting said roller, said aXle having means disposed on each side ofthe outer wall of said housing to secure the same in position, the innerend of said axle terminating in a plane substantially common with theinner surface of the inner wall of said housing.

3. In a car door construction, the combina tion with a car side member;of a track element secured thereto and having a horizontaltraclcsupp'orting section and a depending guide section, the latterbeing outwardly spaced from said side member; a door having the mainbody portion thereof composed of sheet metal, the plane of said mainbody portion being dis posed inwardly of the plane of attachment 0 saidtrack element to said car side member, the upper edge of said door being disposed in said space between the depending guide section and carside member; and supporting hangers for said door, each hanger having asupporting element riding upon said track section, each hanger having alower portion extending downwardly around and inwardly of said guidesection and secured to the main body portion of the door in a planeinwardly-of said depending guide section.

4. In car door construction, the combination with a car side member; ofa track element secured thereto and having a horizontal track-supportingsection and a depending guide section, the latter being outwardly spacedfrom said side member; of a sheet metal door, the plane of the mainportion thereof being disposed inwardly of said de pending guide sectionwith the upper edge of the door between said guide section and the carside member; and supporting hangers for p said door, each hanger havinga supporting roller riding upon said track section and pro vided with alower portion extending downwardly around beneath and inwardly of saidguide section and secured to the door in a plane inwardly of saiddepending guide section, said bracket portion, immediately beneath theguide section, having an integral horizontally disposed rounded surfacearranged to engage the lower edge of the guide section to limit upwardtilting of the door 5 with respect to the track element.

5. In car door construction, the combina tion with a car side member; ofa track element secured thereto and having a horizontal track-supportingsection and a depending guide section, the latter being outwardly spacedfrom said side member; a sheet metal I door having the main body portionthereof disposed in a plane inwardly of the plane of attachment of saidtrack element to the car side member; and supporting roller hangers forsaid door each hanger having a roller riding upon the track section, adepending portion and an inwardly extended portion at the bottomthereof, said inwardly extended portion being secured to the door in aplane inwardly of the plane of attachment of the track element to thecar side member; said bracket having a recess within which is receivedthe depending guide section, the inner vertical face and the lowerhorizontal face defining said recess being rounded and adapted toco-operate with the inner face of the depending guide section and thelower edge thereof, respectively, to limit outward and upward movementof the door with respect to the track element.

In witness that I claim the foregoing 1 have hereunto subscribed my namethis 31st day of August 1925.

35 HAROLD H. HENRIGKS.

